Trunk.



Patventd May I, |900.

R. E M F. H N E D 0 B L 8i 3 87 8 4 6 0. N

K TRUNK.

(Application med sept. 22, 1899.)

(No Medel.)

f Nrrnn LEVI ISAAC BODENHEIAMER, OF IIIGII POINT, NORTH CAROLINA.

TRUNK.

:SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 648,838, dated May 1,1900. Appiano sied sepamtei- 22, 1899. semina. 731,295. (No man To wt wltont t may concern.-

Ke it known that I, Levi' ISAAC BODEN- ncLnER, a citizen of the United States, residlng at IIigh loint, in the county of Guilford and State of North Carolina, have invented body of the trunk are engaged. The objections to this form of fastening, aside from its liability to breakage, are that it is hard to manipulate with the fingers, and a slight warping of the trunk will so ail'ect the relative positions of the spring loops and catches as to prevent their proper engagement. Again, it is now almost a universal custom to employ a strap surrounding a trunk as a supplemental fastening to protect the locking de vices from strain and injury incident to the rough handling of baggage in travel.l This strap-fastening is defective for the reason. that it is inconvenient to adjust and fasten l and also because it can seldom be drawn suflieiently taut to serve the purpose in view.

The present invention aims to remedy the defects and objections above referred to and to provide fastening devices which will operate automatically to leek the trunk-lid and to provide bracing and securing straps which will be drawn tightiy inte position by the mere closing down of the lid.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and convenient device for releasing the trunk-fastcnings and means for automatically raising,r the trunk-lid and sus-y taining it in raised position, thus eil'ectually preventing all liability of accidents caused by the falling down of the lid after it has been raised to permit access to the interior of the trunk.

A further object ol.' the invention isto protect the securing-straps of the trunk and the trunk itself from injury by rough handling in transit. f

The construction of the improvements will be fully described hereinafter in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features will be defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a front eleva,` tion of a trunk provided with my improved fastening'deviees. Fig. is a vertical section on the line 2 2 of Fig. i. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail section of parts shownin Fig. 2. Fig L is an enlarged section through one of the corner-irons oll the trunk, and Fig. 5

is an enlarged detailperspeetive illustrating.

a portion of one of the corner-iron rollers and one of its bracketbearings.

Thereferencemnueral1 designates a trunk box or bod-y provided with the usual hinged lid 2. tion is provided at the front of the trunk, as is usual, to secure a hasp t, depending from the front of the lid. Adjacent to each end of the trunk-lid and at the front thereof is secured aicasing 5, formed with Ilanges or ears (3, perforated to receive 'screws 7. These casings extend below the lid to overlap the body of the trunk and to aline with the casings S, secured to the trunk. Tithin eaeii of the casings 5 is secured a spring-catch i), adapted to engage a shoulder 10, formed by recessing the front of the trunk, as best illustrated in Fig. t. The inclined surfaces of the recess and the shoulder lo are preferably provided with a covering or wear plate ll of sheet metal, bent to conform to the shape of the recess and shoulder and iitting over the top edge of trunk-body.

l designates a rocking rod formed at its center with ahandle -or bail 13 and at each ol its ends with an arm or projection it. This rod is seated in a groove or recess formed in the front wall of the trunk, and its bail or handle 13 projects through slots l5, eonimunic-ating with said groove or recess. The arms or projections l-t extend into the recesses bclow the shoulders 10,:is shown in Fig. 3, and their function is to force the spring-catches Si out of engagement with the shoulders l0 when the bail or handle I3 is raised.

lo designates straps, preferably ol' leather,

A lock 3 of any preferred construc-l IOO secured at their upper ends to the springcatches 9 and passing from thence rearward over the top of the lid 2, downward over the rear side of the trunk, and then passing under the bottom thereof, where they are secured by buckles 17 to the rear ends of coil springs 18, arranged withinv casings 19, secured to the bottom of the trunk. The front ends of these springs are secured to straps 20, which pass from under the trunk up in front thereof and into the easings 8, Where their ends are firmly secured.

To prevent Wear or abrasion of the straps by frictional contact with the corners of the trunk, I provide each of said corners with an antifriction-roller 2l, formed with journals 22, having bearing in slots 23, formed in angle-brackets 2i, secured to the trunk-corners in pairs and covered by bent plates or caps 25. The angle-brackets 24 are formed on their inner sides with triangular Webs 2G, and the slots 23 permit the rollers to be easily dropped into position before the straps and the caps are applied. The straps, as clearly shown in- Fig. f2, pass over these rollers, thus avoiding undue friction and wear. The corners'of the trunk are beveled at the points 27, opposite the rollers, and slightly hollowed out, as shown at 28, to allovT a. free revolution of the rollers.

In addition to the corner-rollers I prefer ably provide at the back of the trunk, opposite each of thcstrapsl, a roller 29, supported by suitable brackets 30.

In applying the straps (which are preferably of machine-stretched leather) I raise the lid of the trunk to an angle of from thirty to forty-iivc degrees and then attach the straps.

'lhis insures the required tension of the straps and the requisite expansion of the springs lS when thc lid is closed down, and the buckle attachment of the lower ends of the straps 1G permits of any adjustment that. may be necessary to compensate for slack or looscness of the straps.

The hasp -lis curved or bent outward near its lower end to adapt it to embrace the bail i3 when the latter is turned down, as shownin Fig. Il and thus the hasp serves as' a secur ing means for the bail in addition to its function a locking device for the lid.

The operation ol' the devices constructed and arranged as above described is as follows: 'lhcmerc closing down of the trunk-lid causes the spring-catches i) to engage the shoulders l0, thus Iirnily holding tbelid in its closed position. At the same time the straps are drawn firmly around the ends of the trunk under the leverage oi' the lid and against the tension ot' the springs 1S. The hasp is then forced over the bail and locked to secure the bail and lid. To open. the trunk-,it is only necessary to unlock the hasp and lift the bail lb', which through the medium of the rocking rod l2 and arms l` l forces the spring-catches 9 out ol engagement with the shoulders l0, thus re leasing the lid, which s immcdiatclyand auy 2 ceases tomatically thrown up by the contraction of the springs and maintained in raised position until closed by a force sufficient to overcome the contractile tensioifbf the springs.

The corner-irons not only serve to protect the straps, but also serve as guards to prevent injury to the trunk when it is rolled or turned.

While the construction shown in the drawings is operative and effect-ive, I would have it understood that I do not restrict the invention to all of the details shown and described, but reserve the right to make all such "variations and moditications in the details of construction as may properly fall within the scope oi' the following claims.

I claiml. The combination with a trunk, of lidsecuring means therefor, comprising catches secured to the lid adjacent to the ends thereof; means on the body of the trunk for ongaging said catches; and a rocking device provided with projections adapted to contact with and release said catches, and a handle for operating the rocking device to release said catches simultaneously.

2. The combination With a trunk, of lidsecuring means therefor, comprising catches secured to the lid adjacent to the ends thereof; means on the body of the trunlcfor engaging said catches; a rocking device provided with lprojections adapted to contact with, and release said catches, and a handle for operating the rocking device to release said catches simultaneously; and a locking device for securing said rocking device against movement.

3. The combination with a'trunk and its hinged lid; of casings secured to-the front of the lid near the ends thereof; spring-catches within said casings; shoulders on the trunkbody to engage said catches; and means for releasing the catches comprising a rocking rod formed at its ends with arms or projections and at its center with an operatinghandle.

4. The combination with a trunk and its hinged lid; of catches secured to the lid; means for releasing said catches, and springs for automatically raising the lid when the catches are released,said springs being secured to the exterior of the trunk, and connected to the lid by straps or bands.

5. The combination with a trunk and its hinged lid; ot' catches forautoinatigallylgking the lid'; straps surrounding the trunk, and springs to which said straps are conncctcd.

i5. The combination Willra trunk andits hinged lid, of automatically-locking catches thoreofor; means for releasing the catches; straps tensioncd by springs, passing around the trunk and rollers over which said straps extend. 4

7'. The combination with a trunk and its hinged lid, of casings secured to the bottom er the trunk, springs supported in said cas- ICO IIO

ings; and straps secured to said springs, and to the trunk.

8. The combination with a trunk,of cornerirons secured thereto; antif'rietion rollers niounteo. on said corner-irons; straps passingA over said rollers; and springs for tensioning seid straps.

9. The combination with a trunk and its hinged lid, of spring-catches Asecured to the front of the lid; means on the trunk-body to engage said catches; releasing means for said catches; springs supported on the underside ofthe trunk-bottoni; straps secured at their` upper ends to the lid and at their loWei` ends tothe rem' ends of the spring; and straps se- I5 cured at their upper ends to the trunk-body. and at their lower ends to the f ronty ends of said springs.

ln testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

LEVI ISAAC BODENIIEIMER. lVi tnesses:

MIRIAM L. ADAMS, SAIDEF. E. STANFORD. 

